Chapter 8 (Register exclusive): Iran to wrestle in U.S. for first time in decade

Apr. 9, 2013

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A U.S. wrestling official said the Iranian national team will compete on American soil for the first time in a decade next month as part of an effort to impact upcoming votes on the sport’s Olympic future.

Rich Bender, the executive director of USA Wrestling, confirmed Tuesday that teams from Iran and Russia will meet May 15 at New York’s iconic Grand Central Station.

Officials also are close to finalizing an event four days later in Los Angeles, Bender said.

“The political differences our countries share (Iran, United States) are obvious and well-documented,” Bender said of the events, first reported Tuesday on DesMoinesRegister.com. “From a wrestling standpoint, though, the U.S. and Iran have one of the strongest relationships of anyone in the sport.

“This is a chance to show how wrestling unites nations. It’s classic diplomacy.”

The International Olympic Committee voted in mid-February to remove wrestling from the list of 25 core sports for the 2020 and 2024 Olympics.

The sport, blind-sided by the move, now is forced to regain its global footing in time for a final IOC vote in September. The first step is a meeting in Russia in late May, just weeks after the New York event, when a group of eight sports will be whittled down as recommended contenders for a single spot for the two Olympic cycles.

The New York event will be called the “Rumble on the Rails” in Grand Central Station’s Vanderbilt Hall, as part of the fourth annual “Beat the Streets” wrestling gala in the city.

In 2010, an all-star meet was held aboard the USS Intrepid aircraft carrier docked on the west side of Manhattan. In 2011, the U.S. beat Russia in the first-ever sports event held in Times Square. Last year, Times Square hosted another U.S.-Russia dual meet with a wrestle-off for American’s final weight class in the 2012 Olympics.

Though the sport has worked to raise its profile through those events — in the world’s biggest media market — urgency spiked with the IOC vote earlier this year.

The U.S. will face Iran at 3:30

p.m., Eastern time, in a freestyle wrestling dual. At 6:30, the Americans will meet Russia in a meet that features men’s and women’s freestyle, along with Greco-Roman.

Bender said the biggest challenge this week is ensuring the Iranians make the trip.

Team members from Iran are in the process of finalizing entry-visa requirements, Bender said. Since the U.S. and Iran lack normal diplomatic relations, Iranians are forced to go to another country with an American embassy to go through the visa application and interview.

“I think they’re going to Dubai, from what we know,” Bender said. “We’re told all of this is happening in the next 24 hours.”

Logistics for the Russian team proved far less complicated, because the countries operate embassies housed on each other’s soil — and Russia’s team has routinely competed in the U.S. during recent years.

Bender said officials also hope to try experimental rules during the U.S.-Russia match.

“There’s talk of maybe one, 5-minute period, there’s talk about the possibility of one point for a push-out or step-out, two points for a takedown that finishes,” he said. “Some won’t be determined until much closer to the event.

“The Russians have their ideas about the rules and we do, too. Hopefully, we end up with the best of both.”

Chances are high, too, that the Iranians will compete in Los Angeles. Bender said talks continue with the L.A. Memorial Sports Arena, but the contract has yet to be signed.